User blog:Drayco90/Mid-Season Premiere: Hawke vs. Dovahkiin
This week on Deadliest Fiction, two of Fantasy Gaming's most famous heroes cross their blades in an epic battle to the death. Both of these men represent the ideals of their Role Playing Game genres perfectly, but are polar opposites all the same. One hails from the frozen land of Skyrim, where the environments are free to explore and bountiful, but the story and characters are little to behold. The other hails from the city of Kirkwall, where there is little to explore, but presents a tale and a team of unique characters that will last with you for long after the game's completion. Both of these men are champions, both are heroes, but only one can be...THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR! The Warriors Hawke Originally born as a young apostate mage in the town of Lothering, Hawke spent his early years practicing his magic while honing his skill as a warrior to defend his younger siblings from the prying eyes of the Templars. When his father passed away, Hawke was forced to become the "man of the house" from an early age. Hawke's life changed forever when the Darkspawn attacked Lothering shortly after the Grey Warden's visit there. Escaping to the city of Kirkwall, Hawke would become a legendary figure- single handedly changing the course of history for entire nations, starting and stopping numerous wars and putting down deadly monsters on the way. Dovahkiin A Nord warrior by birth, the man who would become known as the Dragonborn was captured by the Imperials as he attempted to cross the border for unknown reasons. When Alduin descended upon the snowy land of Skyrim, the Nord discovered that he was the latest in the ancient line of Dragonborn, and began training in the way of his Thu'um to battle Alduin and the Dragons to free the people from his land of their tyranny. The Dragonborn became a vital part of Skyrim's politics as his actions brought him into the civil war of the Imperials and the freedom loving Stormcloaks. The Nord was also believed to involve himself in the Champions and the Mage's guild, while some outlandish reports claim he aided the seedier Thieve's Guild and Dark Brotherhood as well. Weapons Hawke Staff_of_Parthalan_icon.png|The Staff of Parthalan. Legends- Parthalan Staff.jpg|Another look at the (full) Staff. Fadeshear.png|Fadeshear. Dragonage20112.jpg|Hawke wielding the Lion of Orlais shield and Fadeshear. Hawke with Longsword.jpg|Ferelden Longsword. 315px-Jackal's_Longbow.jpg|Sebastian wielding the Jackal's Longbow. Finesse.png|The Finesse dagger in one hand... 159px-Spider's_heart.jpg|And the Spider's Heart in the other. Mantle of the Champion_concept.jpg|The Mantle of the Champion. Hawke in his armor.jpg|A shot of Hawke in the armor in-game. Dovahkiin 392px-Steel_Sword_dragonborn.png|The Steel Sword. 333px-Ironbandedshield.jpg|Banded Iron Shield Dragonbane.png|Dragonbane. Mehrune's Razor.png|Mehrune's Razor 392px-TESV_Wuuthrad.png|Wuuthrad, the mystic elf-killing axe. 294px-NightingaleBow.png|The Nightingale Bow 392px-StaffRestoration.png|The Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson Full (female) studded armor.jpg|Full Studded Armor (female model- sorry) 308px-Ironhelmet.jpg|The Iron Helmet. Magic Hawke 626px-MindBlastDAII.png|Mind Blast knocks enemies down with great force and does severe mental damage. Firestorm1.jpg|Firestorm (bad picture), summons huge balls of fire to rain down on a large area of land, scorching it and exploding on enemies. 697px-DA2ChainLightn.jpg|Chain Lighting is a quickly recovering spell that shoots blasts of electric death at enemies, and arcs out- hitting any foe close to the original target as well. ConeOfColdDAII3.png|Cone of Cold creates a sweeping arc of solid ice spikes and freezing energy that first impales enemies, doing major damage to armor, then freezes them or at least makes them more brittle. 517px-HealDAII2.png|Heal recovers a significant portion of health to a target. Hawke magic Dragon Fight.jpg|Hawke could take on even the mightiest of foes with his powerful spells. Dovahkiin Dragonborn Shout.jpg|Well...that's a Shout alright... Fus_roh_dah.jpg|Unrelenting Force is a Thu'um that pushes back physical object with a shout. TESV_Fire_Breath.png|Fire Breath casts a brief blast of flame from the Dragonborn's mouth. Whirlwind Sprint.jpg|Whirlwind Sprint uses the power of the wind to push the Dovahkiin forward for one brief burst of energy. 1074740-1326975740.jpg|A dragon casts a much more powerful version of Frost Breath. Become_Ethereal.jpg|Become Ethereal makes the caster both unable to attack or be attacked for a brief period of time. * Important note- just like in-universe, Dovahkiin's Thu'um are on a universal cooldown- using one means he has to wait until he can use another. Party Members Hawke will be aided by three of his loyal companions- * Aveline Vallen, the warrior- Aveline is clad in Heavy Steel Armor of the City Guard Captain, and is wielding a Steel Shortsword and Ser Wesley's Shield. * Varric Tetheras, the ranger- Varric is wielding his custom leather armor, and is wielding his famous customized repeating Crossbow, Bianca, which has an incredibly swift reload and obscene rate of fire as well as a bayonet. * Anders, the mystical one- The infamous terrorist and mage liberator, Anders is wearing his Renegade's Coat and robes, and is wielding his Freedom's Call staff, giving him access to all of his mage and spirit healer abilities. Dovahkiin will be going into battle alongside- * Lydia, the warrior- Lydia is wearing her Steel Armor and wielding her default Steel Sword and Shield that she had when she joined the Dragonborn. * Aela the Huntress, the ranger- Aela is wearing...very little. She is also wielding her Hunting Bow. * Lucien Lachance, the mystical one- Lucien's spirit aids the Dragonborn with his Blade of Woe. As a spectral form, Lachance is not wearing any armor but otherwise seems to act like any other normal party member. X-Factors Hawke / Dovahkiin Strength- 70 / 80 ''' The Dovahkiin is a Nord- a natural warrior by heart and an experienced fighter. While Hawke is no slouch himself, able to go toe-to-toe with the Arishok by himself even without his magic, he's just a normal man who spends a great deal of time using magic over other skills. '''Intellegence- 80 / 70 Once again, this simply comes down to their profession. Hawke is a Mage, and is thus a more knowledgable warrior than a standard warrior of Skyrim. There is also the culture of the people of Ferelden and of Skyrim to take into consideration- Skyrim's people looks down on "bookish" types, and ecourages the more traditional warrior roles, thought the Dovahkiin is not necessarily a part of this ideal. 'Experience- 100 / 60 ' During Alduin's attack, the Dovahkiin went from having been a minor warrior to a legend, fighting deadly enemies and monsters. Hawke, on the other hand, has fought for nearly a decade- he's battled the same kind of monsters as the Dragonborn has, but he's also fought and won multiple wars and has dealt with more diverse and powerful creatures more powerful than anything in the Elder Scrolls, such as the Harvester. 'Teamwork- 90 / 60 ' Hawke's team are more than just a group of adventurers- they're a family, a nakama. They've fought together for years and work incredibly well together. The Dragonborn does not travel with a party nearly as much as Hawke, and when he does it's never the same size- Dovahkiin's team won't be able to work together as well because they simply don't know each other very well. The Battle Another burst of sea-water slammed into the side of the massive vessel as it sailed across the rough, stormy waters. A wave of dark ocean swept over the top of the ship, taking the occasional piece of light cargo or slipping a member of the crew to their knees. Leaning against the railing, the Dovahkiin peered out across the storm, barely able to hear his own thoughts over the howl of the lashing winds as it fought with the flapping sails above him. For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about Helgen, that fateful day. He was captured for “crossing the border” by the blood-thirsty Imperials, but an attempt on his life by Alduin, the divine World-Eater himself, had allowed him to escape to freedom. Soon after, he learned he was Dragonborn, and fought Alduin and the dragon hordes to save Skyrim and the world. That had been a year ago, but it felt like such a longer period of time. With the Dragons slain, the Dovahkiin decided it would be best for him to travel the world and seek out new adventures, and the new High King was happy to accommodate his ally with a ship and crew. He had heard of a far away land known as Thedas where Dragons were semi-common and greatly feared by the populace. The Dovahkiin told very few of his allies of this planned journey- only two of his most trusted friends, Lydia and Aela, and the ever present spirit of Lucien Lachance sailed at his side, aside from those that manned the ship. After months of sailing across rough waters, the Dragonborn was finally able to see their destination. Visible even through the harshness of the storm, two massive statues of men, barren of any defining features on their metal bodies and twisted in the binds of slavery rose up from the cliff face before them, indicating a passage to harbor. The legendary White City of Chains: Kirkwall. The Dragonborn stroked his Nord beard in contemplation upon seeing the statues- sure, there was slavery in Tamriel, racial issues ran deep in his homeland after all, and the elves still prominently practiced it, but never would anyone in Skyrim construct a monument to such barbarism. He could instinctively feel his hand hovering over the hilt of his blade. He didn’t like this- not one bit. Something about this City made the Dragonborn uneasy, but if he could face down the might of the World Eater himself, surely whatever he faced in this haunting land would fall before him… Hawke continued leafing his way through the books he had arranged to get from his ally Tallis. After everything that had happened here in Kirkwall, he needed to get away, somewhere he could hide out and disappear for a while. Because of his actions, and the actions of his people, the entirety of Thedas was in the midst of tearing itself apart in civil war- the Mages were throwing down the oppression of the Chantry and talks of Exalted Marches were being whispered in the streets. Sebastian had returned to his home in Starkhaven to retake the throne and lead his people to war against the Free Marches to kill Anders, Hawke’s mage friend who sparked the whole conflict, and most of his companions had spread to the wind. Hawke himself had been keeping low in the caves of the Bone Pits Mine he had purchased nearly a decade ago. While it was well known he owned the place, the fear of the dragons that once inhabited it did wonders to keep people away- at least for now, it was at best a temporary solution. Anders was staying with him- being the most wanted man in Thedas didn’t give the mage many alternatives, after all. Varric was also staying with him, the dwarf still firmly believing that one day he would tell Hawke’s story, and that the book wasn’t quite closed yet. Aveline did her best to keep order as the captain of the guard, but still found herself taking time to visit Hawke and see how his preparations were coming- it was the least she could do, especially as her frustrations mounted in light of the chaos spreading in Kirkwall daily. After Carver betrayed the Templars to protect his older brother, his status as a member of the order was effectively null. Carver could be a real sod, but he was still Hawke’s brother, and he knew Carver would take care of Merril until he was ready to leave- and she would be safer hiding out with him than with Hawke and Anders, of that there were no doubts. Hawke only wished he could finish his preparations soon- he may have been Kirkwall’s Champion, but it had given him nothing but hardships- sometimes he thought it would have been better if the Hawkes had taken their chances back in Ferelden… The Dragonborn and company traveled silently through the winding streets of Kirkwall. Already, they had been ambushed by three separate packs of bandits, though they had been put down rather easily. The White City of Chains was a wreck- some of the buildings were falling apart as if they were ancient ruins, while others were coated in burn marks and dried blood. The smell of death lingered in the air as people were killed faster than they could be cleared from the streets. Things seemed to calm down a bit after exiting the lower sections of the city, into the upper class sector of Hightown. It wasn’t long before the Nord spotted something in the distance- a burned out husk of a massive building. It seemed to serve some religious purpose, but was dedicated to no Divine or Daedra that he could recognize. The whole site looked exactly like Helgen- bearing all the unmistakable signs of a dragon attack. A short, bearded man was brushing some of the debris in the square- being the only man around, the Dragonborn felt compelled to talk to him. “Sir?” The Dovahkiin approached. “Do you know from where the Dragon who attacked this place came from?” The short man looked up, his cubby face twisted in confusion at first, then a gleam of amusement. He began to chuckle to himself before going back to his work, shaking his head slightly. “Don’t laugh at him!” Aela snapped in frustration from the back of the groups. “You are talking to the savior of Skyrim: The Dovahkiin. Show some respect!” “Douvaklin?” The man snorted . “What are you, a couple of Orlesian nug-humpers, come to wallow in the Free Marches’ suffering? Everyone in Thedas knows what happened at this damn Chantry.” “I’m no ‘Orlesian’, nor am I of Thedas.” The Dragonborn replied. “Tell me what happened at this ‘Chantry’.” “Sodding mages blew the damn thing up to start a war. So-Called Champion took turned his back on the rest of us to help out with his terrorist chums, and now the City is falling apart around us.” He spat on the ground in disgust. “But if you want Dragons, I hear the Bone Pit’s got them in droves. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even get to see our ‘beloved’ hero.” With that, the Dragonborn had his destination. Kirkwall was even worse off than he had thought, but if there’s one thing that the civil war of his own home taught him, it’s that meddling in political affairs wasn’t his place, but criminals and terrorists needed to answer for their crimes to the people suffering for them- these people were clearly suffering, no matter what the Mage’s side of the story was. His mind briefly wandered back to Whiterun and Jarl Balgruuf, but only for a fleeting moment before he snapped back to reality. He would investigate this Bone Pit, and maybe see if he could bring this mage back to the city for justice… Notes * On my current battles; ** Marvel vs. DC- I plan to alternate between a comic battle and regular season battle until I finish my first Issue and Season. I will try to write Punisher vs. Red Hood this weekend, but I make no promises. It will be up SOON though. ** Reapers vs. Cybertron- this one has been getting questions; it's not cancelled, it's just a HUGE project- I want this to be more than just a small battle, it's my love letter to two of my favorite franchises. It's going to take time to write, and I want to leave it open because I got a small pool of votes and only a few that were really "good". So it's on the backburner for now, hopefully some other fans of the franchise find it with all our new traffic. ** UNSC vs. Dominion- This will also be left open for a while, to get more votes, for similar reasons. I like these big battles, but can't let them slow me down from doing my smaller ones. Hope you understand. * My voting policy still stands- if your vote is shit, I'm not counting it. I think I've gone over it enough times in the past that I don't have to repeat myself. Edges are preferred as always, but if you just want to write out your thoughts, that's fine. Neither are guaranteed to make your vote full, however. Category:Blog posts